Bwinparty rumours of a possible takeover

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment has had some difficulties lately and the company has now confirmed that it may be the subject of a takeover bid. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formed in 2011 when Bwin Interactive Entertainment and PartyGaming merged to form one of the world’s largest online gambling companies. Bwin.party is based in Gibraltar and offers online sports betting, casino games and poker.

There was so much speculation on the past few weeks about the future of the company in particular rumours of various other companies interested in making takeover bids, that Bwin.Party issued a statement saying that the Board is engaged in “preliminary discussions with a number of interested parties regarding a variety of potential business combinations with a view to creating additional value for bwin.party shareholders. “ However, the company has made it clear that since the talks are at such an early stage that there is no guarantee that they will result in any agreement regarding the future of Bwin.Party.

Two potential interested parties

There have been references made to two main possible companies that may be interested in making a takeover bid for Bwin.Party. The Canadian company, Amaya Gaming is said to be considering the acquisition of Bwin.party. Amaya Gaming is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and earlier this year it made a major investment when it bought the company that owns PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker for just under 5 billion dollars. It is not known if Amaya could undertake another large investment so soon after this one especially as the figure of 1.2 billion pounds has been mentioned to take over Bwin.Party. The other company mentioned as possible investor in Bwin.Party is Playtech. Playtech, the internet gaming software developer and supplier is listed on the London stock Exchange and is based in the Isle of Man. The company was founded in 1999 and provides software for online casinos, live dealer casinos, internet sports betting and other forms of internet gaming. Playtech has caused speculation recently because it has been raising finance for acquisitions and it already has almost half a million euros from the sale of its share of William Hill Online. So it could be a contender for a takeover bid for Bwin.party.

No confirmation from Bwin.Party

While Bwin.Party did give in to media pressure and speculation concerning a possible takeover of its business by releasing a statement to confirm that it was engaged in discussions but could not guarantee that there would be a positive outcome for the company. Bwin.Party did not confirm that either Amaya Gaming Group or Playtech were involved in these discussions. The gaming company’s shares rose after it released its statement but it isn’t known when or by whom Bwin.party may be acquired.